Again and Again (Forever and Always #10) Read online

  “You’re driving me crazy!”

  “The feeling is mutual,” she snapped. She walked around the couch, keeping us separated.

  “Do you not remember the past three months? Or did you just block that out? I realize you don’t see Cortland as much as I do, but that guy was a fucking ghost. He was dead—literally. She walked out of his life, taking everything with her, and left him to rot. And all of this happened on stupid grounds. So when she thinks he’s seeing someone else, she comes crawling back? It sounds like she’s a selfish brat—and not in a good way.”

  “Do you hear me arguing with you?” She gave me that look I hated. “I’m not disagreeing with any of that. I just don’t think it’s right for you to say mean things about Monnique to Cortland. She’s still our friend.”

  “Fuck her,” I snapped. “She’s not my friend. I don’t understand how Scarlet and can let everything go and invite her into the house, and I can’t understand how you could possibly forgive her either knowing Cortland is my good friend. It’s unacceptable.”

  She shook her head. “You’re acting like a child. Just stay out of their business. That’s all I’m saying. If Cortland decided he wanted to be with her, you should be supportive. The last thing you should be doing is throwing Hazel at him. If he wanted to be with her, he would. Don’t force it.”

  I was getting sick of this argument. I was just getting more and more upset. She and I kept talking, but neither one of us was really listening to what the other had to say.

  I grabbed my wallet and my keys. “I’m going out.”

  “I don’t think so!” Janice marched to me and pressed her back to the door. “It’s almost ten. You aren’t going out and getting drunk. If you want to drink, do it here.”

  “You don’t tell me what to do!” I got in her face, yelling.

  “I don’t like being in the apartment by myself late at night. So deal with it.”

  “I don’t like being yelled at in front of my friends. And I don’t like you telling them I’m pussy whipped.”

  “Well, you are,” she said with a cocky smirk.

  I glared at her. “You tell me to stay out of other people’s business, but you’re sticking your nose—”

  Her lips pressed against mine, hard. Her arms wrapped around my neck and pulled me into the door. Her body was pressed against me. I could feel her breasts tight against my chest. They were perky and hard. I knew exactly what she was doing and I tried to fight it. I pulled away.

  “That’s not going to work—”

  She pulled me back and wrapped one leg around my waist. Her kisses were purposeful and hot. She devoured me like I’d been away for months. She breathed into my mouth, making pleasurable sighs. When her hands moved to my back, she dug her nails into the skin.

  A hard-on appeared in my jeans and my mind became sex-crazed. I wanted to pull away and stand my ground, but she tasted so fucking good.

  “I want you to fuck me,” she said into my mouth. “And I know you want to.”

  I growled, hating the way she just played me.

  “Come on, Ryan. You’re pussy whipped. Just admit it.” She rubbed her body against the bulge in my pants, stroking me.

  She had me and I knew it. “You fucking bitch.”

  Her lips moved to my neck. She kissed me the way I loved, sucking and cherishing the skin. And she rocked into me at the same time, being an irresistible fireball.

  I gave in and pulled up her dress.

  She grabbed my hands and looked me in the eye. “Nope. Tell me, Ryan.” She pulled down the top of her dress, revealing her bra.

  I cringed when I realized how easily she manipulated me. “I’m pussy whipped.”

  “Good boy.” She patted my cheek.

  I pulled up her dress and yanked her underwear off with lightning speed. I had to be inside her right now. I unbuttoned my jeans and pulled them down along with the boxers. Then I picked her up and pushed her against the door, fucking her hard and fast. I pressed my face into her breasts while I slid inside her damp pussy. It felt so fucking good.

  Janice breathed into my ear while her nails dragged across my back. She whispered nasty things to me, telling me how much she loved having me inside her. “Now come inside me,” she said quietly.

  Her words ignited my trigger, and I slammed her body into the door while I came. “Fuck…” It always felt so good when I released inside her. No one ever satisfied me the way Janice did. I still held her into the door while I caught my breath. I was hot and sweaty.

  She moved from my arms then placed her feet on the ground. She fixed her hair and her dress, not looking at me. “This argument is over.” She walked away then went into the bedroom.

  I stood there, my hands against the door and my pants around my ankles.

  Damn. I really was pussy whipped.

  I had my interviews the next day. I needed to hire two more people and I had to narrow it down during the second interview. I was going through the applications when Janice walked inside.

  She strutted inside, the arrogance and victory in her eyes. “Hey, baby.”

  I eyed her body then came around the counter to give her a kiss. “Hey. You look nice today.” Since no one was in the shop, my hand automatically moved up her shirt and grabbed her breast. She smirked while I groped her like a whore.

  I didn’t bring up our argument again. After Janice pulled that stunt on me, I remembered how in love with her I was. She put me in my place when I didn’t want her to, and she made my cock very happy. She was my dream girl. I realized the argument was insignificant in comparison to what we had. And she was right. I was wound tight around her finger—damn tight.

  “Any luck picking someone?” she asked as she pulled my hand away.

  “A few.”

  She stepped away from me and scanned through the applications. I came behind her and pressed my hard cock against her backside. I wanted to take her into the back and fuck her on my desk.

  “Susan?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “Who’s she?”

  “She’s an artist from Chicago. She just moved here and she’s looking for a job.”

  “Oh.” She hid her emotion, but I knew she was a little jealous. “She pretty?”

  “Not as pretty as you.” I pulled her hair off her shoulder and kissed her neck. “Let’s go in the back and you can teach me a lesson.”

  She looked at the other applications. “I like these two guys. Hire them.”

  Well, that was ironic.

  “Baby, do you not want me to hire a woman?” I breathed into her ear, still grinding against her backside.

  “Whatever. I don’t care.”

  “Yes, you do.” I moved one hand down her pants and slid under her underwear. “Ride me in the back and I won’t hire her.”

  “You’re blackmailing me?” she asked.

  “Yep. What’s it gonna be?”

  “I never want you to hire a girl.”

  “Fine.” I kissed her neck again. “Now hold up your end of the bargain.”

  “Don’t you have to run a shop?”

  “I’m on lunch.” I grabbed her hand and pulled her into my office. I stripped my clothes off then sat in my leather chair. My cock was hard and against my stomach. I eyed her with a hungry expression.

  Slowly, she stripped off her clothes, making me more excited. Then she climbed on top of me, her feet flat on the outside of my thighs. She grabbed onto the back of my chair, her breasts in my face. She sheathed me once then bounced up and down on my cock, drenching me with the moisture between her legs.

  Damn. It felt good.

  I liked it when she was on top. She did a great job. I wouldn’t hire a woman if she was that uncomfortable with it, but I may as well get laid if I could. I grabbed her hips and pulled her onto me faster, loving the slippery slide. I couldn’t last long when she did me like this. My cock twitched and released. I moaned loudly while I came inside her, releasing everything I had. I leaned back in the chair then caught my brea
th.

  “No girls,” Janice said firmly.

  “I’m going to need more convincing…”

  She glared at me then pulled her clothes on.

  “Baby, I won’t hire any. But you have nothing to worry about anyway.”

  “I better not,” she said with an attitude.

  “Just take one look in the mirror.”

  She adjusted her clothes without looking at me.

  “Seriously, why does it bother you? The girl is the most qualified of the bunch.”

  “I know you have a thing for girls with tats…”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t have a single mark on your body and I made it clear I never want you to have one. You look pretty fucking gorgeous without them.”

  Her lips upturned in a small smile.

  “Baby, I won’t hire a girl if you’re that uncomfortable with it, but you never have anything to worry about.”

  She seemed to loosen up. “Okay.”

  “Besides, girls come in here and take off their clothes and ask me to mark their private parts. That doesn’t bother you?” I had a huge grin on my face, knowing this would get under her skin.

  The surprised look on her face told me she hadn’t thought of that.

  “And they are cute too.”

  She glared at me.

  “Baby, I’m kidding.”

  “You can’t have girl customers either.”

  I laughed. “I make the most money off them. Those tramp stamps aren’t cheap.”

  ‘Well, maybe I’ll make the shop my new office,” she threatened. “So I can keep an eye on you.”

  “Fine by me. I’ll fuck you in that chair every day.”

  “You’d be lucky to get a handy from me.”

  “Ooh…I like that too.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You’re such a pig.” She turned to walk away but I grabbed her from behind and yanked her back.

  “Come on, baby. You know I’m pussy-whipped.”

  She smiled. “At least you aren’t afraid to admit it.”

  “Definitely not.” I rubbed my nose against hers and stared into her eyes. I loved the playfulness we shared. There were times when we were serious, emotional, and other times when we teased each other until the episode ended in laughter. When Cortland went through his break up with Monnique, I held Janice even tighter, never wanting that heartbreak to happen to me.

  3

  Scarlet

  Monnique kept to herself most of the time. When Olga made her lunch, she didn’t eat it. She was quiet, soft spoken. The flare and fire in her step was gone. The light was absent in her eyes. A life without Cortland was hitting her hard.

  I knocked on her door when she didn’t come out all day. “Monnique?”

  “It’s open.”

  I stepped inside and looked at the bed. She wasn’t lying down or sitting on the mattress. Instead, she was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. It was dark in the room, all the curtains were drawn shut. “Everything okay?”

  She shrugged. “No. Yes. I don’t know.”

  I gave her a sympathetic look then sat beside her on the floor. The darkness made me feel unreal. The room was spotless. Monnique was always a neat freak, but I suspected she cleaned because she wanted to occupy her mind.

  “How’s the job hunt going?” I asked. I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

  “I have a few interviews lined up.”

  “That’s good,” I said with an excited voice. “What departments?”

  “Labor and delivery and emergency medicine.”

  “Those both sound great.”

  “Yeah,” she said lifelessly.

  For the week she’s been here, she hadn’t been eating or moving. She was a sloth. “Looked for an apartment?”

  “Not really,” she said. “But I’ll leave if you don’t want me here. Janice said I could squeeze in with them if I needed to, even though I’m not Ryan’s favorite person at the moment…”

  “No,” I said quickly. “That’s not what I meant. I was just trying to make conversation.”

  “Oh. So…how’s the pregnancy?”

  “It’s okay. Nothing too extreme has happened. I’m a little hungrier than usual.”

  Monnique smirked. “Is that possible?” she teased.

  “Well, it is. When Sean and I went out to dinner the other night, I ate my entire plate then ate his leftovers. He looked at me like I was crazy.”

  “No. He was probably impressed.”

  I smiled. “He says he likes my belly.”

  “That’s sweet,” she said. “A real man will make you feel attractive even when you look like hell. Cortland used to be the same way…”

  He was always a tough topic.

  “Does he…have feelings for this girl?”

  “He says they are just friends.” I didn’t look at her face because the pain was too hard to stare at.

  “Do you think that’s true?”

  “If I had to pinpoint a single trait about Cortland it would be his honesty. He never lies.”

  “No, he doesn’t…” She hugged her waist. “I’m sorry about the way I treated you, Scarlet. I shouldn’t have thrown away your friendship. I guess…I was just jealous. Ever since Cortland and I got together, he always speaks of you so highly. As soon as he has a problem, he turns to you. When he told me about your intimacy, it just made me explode. It confirmed something I always suspected. And the truth didn’t make me feel better…not that it justifies what I did.”

  “I understand, Monnique.”

  “You do?” she asked. “Because it seems like you’re still upset with me.”

  “I’ve forgiven you for what you said and did to me. I know you were just upset. But…I’m still resentful for what you did to Cortland. That wasn’t an issue worth ending a relationship. You should have stayed and worked it out. You didn’t see him fall apart in my eyes. He’s my best friend, and I don’t like it when anyone hurts him, even if she’s a good friend.”

  Monnique took a deep breath and blinked her eyes quickly. “I completely understand. And I know everyone else feels the same way.”

  I didn’t want her to feel like we were ganging up on her, but I couldn’t deny it.

  “But I’m here now. And I’ll work my ass off to get him back.”

  I wasn’t sure if that effort would be futile.

  “What has Cortland told you?”

  “The same thing he told you. He loves you but he can’t just forget what happened. Three months is a long time. He’s finally accepted a life without you in it. Then you just barge into his life unexpectedly.”

  She nodded. “There’s something I want to ask you, friend to friend.”

  I had no idea what she would ask me, and I was nervous to hear her speak.

  “Please tell Cortland to take me back.” She pleaded with her eyes. “He’ll listen to you, Scarlet. You’re my biggest hope.”

  I couldn’t look at her. That was something I couldn’t do. “Cortland has to make this decision on his own. I won’t manipulate him. And I wouldn’t do it anyway, Monnique. Unfortunately, I’m on his side. I don’t think he should just take you back after what you did.”

  She turned her face away so I wouldn’t see her tears.

  “I’m sorry, Monnique. I know you love him, but…you can’t just make everything right that quickly.”

  “I’m a very patient woman.”

  I rested my hand on my stomach, the stance I usually took when I sat down.

  “Do you think I have a chance, if I work hard?”

  “I can’t answer that,” I said honestly. “You know Cortland in a way I’ll never understand. If you know he loves you, then of course you do. But it shouldn’t matter anyway. If he’s what you want, you have to try. I can’t guarantee it will go anywhere.”

  She nodded her head.

  We sat in silence for several minutes. I couldn’t think of anything else to say, so I decided to give her some space. “You know where to fin
d me.” I walked out and shut the door without looking back at her.

  I went into my office and worked for a few hours. When I realized Sean was on his way home, I went downstairs and waited for him. He usually came home the same time every day. If he was going to be late, he always called me.

  I was eating a cup of chocolate pudding like a fatass when there was a knock on the door. It obviously wasn’t Sean. Why would he knock on his own door? Olga was gone for the day so I was alone at the house. Sean encouraged me to never open the door when I was alone, but I decided to take a peek anyway.

  It was Diane. Of course it was.

  I hoped she was here to apologize, but judging by the pissed look on her face, that was a firm no. I took a deep breath then opened the door. I waited for her to speak first so I knew how to handle her.

  “I need to speak to my son.”

  It’s nice to see you too. “He’s not home.”

  “Then where is he?” She put her hands on her hips and gave me a shitty attitude.

  “Work.” Obviously.

  “He should be home by now.”

  And how would you know? “You’re welcome to wait for him inside. Or you could just call.” Please just call.

  “He won’t take any of my calls—because of you.”

  Don’t hit your mother-in-law. Don’t do it. “I’m sorry to hear that.” I felt like a customer service representative dealing with a crazy customer. “Is there something I can help you with?”

  “Yes.” She pulled a check out of her pocket. “Why did my husband write this check for five million dollars on your wedding day?”

  Five million dollars? What the hell did he buy? “Andrew’s private affairs are none of my concern. I can guarantee Sean doesn’t know anything either.”

  “Then why is it written to Sarah Sisco?”

  What? Did I hear her right? “Could you say that name again?”

  “S-A-R-A-H S-I-S-C-O.” She was being purposely condescending but I was too stunned to care. “Is this a relative of yours? Why is my husband giving our livelihood to your relatives? Was the wedding we paid for not enough?

  My head was spinning. Why did Andrew write my mother a check? More importantly, why didn’t Sean tell me about it? Why did it happen on my wedding day? What did that mean? Did she show up after all? God, I was so sick I thought I would throw up.